The Painted Veil (5/5)
Just as Seinfeld’s Elaine was ostracized for hating The English Patient, there will probably be trouble for anyone who doesn’t fall in love with The Painted Veil. Like the 1996 Oscar winner, the film masterfully combines a powerful love story, cultural conflicts and engaging performances that will have James Lipton drooling on Inside the Actor’s Studio.
Based on the classic novel by Somerset Maugham, The Painted Veil begins in 1920’s London society, where Kitty (Naomi Watts) is considered an old maid though she is just in her early twenties. Rather than remain with her oppressive mother, Kitty chooses to marry the boring, unexpressive bacteriologist Walter Fane (Edward Norton) and quickly moves with him to Shanghai.
Walter is not quite the knight in shining armor Kitty imagined, and she gives up all hope on him after an awkward romantic encounter with his socks on and the lights off. Kitty finds solace in British colonial society where she meets the animated Vice Counsel Charles Townsend (Liev Schreiber). Their relationship rapidly develops into a passionate affair and it isn’t long before Walter discovers their secret. Broken hearted, Walter accepts a position in a cholera-infested village and cruelly insists that Kitty come with him.
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